[jacksonpt]

As some of you know, about 3 weeks ago I had a little incident with a car while out riding. I'm hoping to get back on the bike this week, but I want to be sure my bike is solid before I get too far from home.

I gave it a once-over after the accident and everything seems ok. What I mean by that is there are no obvious cracks or breaks anywhere. Are there more subtle things I should be on the lookout for? Where are the most common places to see frame damage considering I hit the car head-on?

By the way, it's a steel frame with carbon fork (carbon steerer), and I hit the car going somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25mph.

Thanks.

 

[reflux]

I would probably put the carbon fork down to rest. It's had a good life, but a head-on collision puts an obscene amount of force on forkblades, crown, and steerer tube that were not designed for that.

As for your frame, I would mainly be worried about the headtube junctures.

 

[OGRipper]

I would probably put the carbon fork down to rest. It's had a good life, but a head-on collision puts an obscene amount of force on forkblades, crown, and steerer tube that were not designed for that.

As for your frame, I would mainly be worried about the headtube junctures.

This is really good advice. While you're at it, check your bar and stem. If either are carbon or a bit old, I'd probably replace them too. It all might be fine, might not, and the peace of mind would be worth it to me.

As for the frame, the absence of cracks is a good thing, but it could still be bent. A decent shop will have at least some of the basic alignment tools. If it's out of alignment you might find your bike pulling to one side or giving you the shimmies, possibly only once you get it up to speed - which can be an exciting time to learn.

 

[Wumpus]

Bulging on the downtube.

 

[peter6061]

I know you said, "head-on," but any accident where you impacted at 20-25 mph means that bike hit something to bring it to a stop hard. I'd take it to your local shop and have them check for frame damage and possible alignment issues.

A buddy of mine went down hard on the trail yesterday and threw the back end of his steel frame out to the side by an inch (huge). "That rock jumped out of nowhere!"

 

[JRogers]

I would probably put the carbon fork down to rest. It's had a good life, but a head-on collision puts an obscene amount of force on forkblades, crown, and steerer tube that were not designed for that.

Not a bad idea, but if you don't want to or can't toss it, at least make sure you take it out and completely go over it if you have not done so already.

Besides close inspection and an alignment check, I'm not sure what else you can do.

 

[reflux]

^^^^^ These guys are teh smart. Most definitely follow their suggestions.

As for the fork, what is the make and model? Carbon steerer? I have a good friend who has spent some time testing carbon road forks. According to him, he has been absolutely floored with how flexy a few models have tested at. Unfortunately I don't know names, but that tidbit, along with how much I value my face and teeth, would prevent me from using said fork. Failure at 30mph? No thank you.

 

[loco-gringo]

I agree with replacing the fork. That said, I am concerned about mine that I just crashed in the rain the other day. I think it looks fine, but still worry.

Crashing because your front wheel falls off will really suck.